*ALL GUEST APPEARANCES 
are subject to last-minute cancellation due to work commitments (or health). This is unavoidable when booking guests who are in-demand, current industry professionals. Cancellations, if any, will be immediately reported in the "Hot News" section of this web site.

 

Guest-related
questions?
E-mail Donnie Waddell

Meet the creative talents behind your favorite books, movies, TV shows and comics!

Most of our guests will have scheduled autographing times.  Most will also be giving talks. See a tentative list of Guest Presentations.

Keir Dullea*
Our "2001" celebration wouldn't be complete without actor Keir Dullea, who co-starred as David Bowman alongside Gary Lockwood's Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. He reprised the role 17 years later in 2010. Dullea has been seen most recently on the movie screen in The Good Shepherd (2006) and on TV in Law & Order. In addition to his many stage, TV and film appearances, he starred in the notorious Harlan Ellison-created TV series The Starlost.

Gary Lockwood*
Actor Gary Lockwood will be making his first-ever WonderFest appearance to help us celebrate the 40th Anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which he played doomed astronaut Frank Poole. His career has spanned numerous feature films and TV shows, including his turn as Gary Mitchell in the 2nd Star Trek pilot episode. His most recent TV role in an s-f series was in Dark Skies, playing Earl Warren. Visit Gary's website.

CultTVman is sponsoring the appearance of 2001 stars Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood.

Linda Harrison*
Best known for her role as Charlton Heston's attractive mate "Nova" in the 1968 film Planet of the Apes, and its 1970 sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Linda Harrison is making a rare appearance to help us celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Apes film. She also had a cameo in Tim Burton's 2001 remake Planet of the Apes and appeared in both Cocoon movies. She was the first actress to play a live-action version of Wonder Woman, in a failed 1967 pilot for a Wonder Woman TV series.

Dirk Benedict*
In a stage, film and television career that has spanned more than 30 years, Dirk Benedict has enjoyed such successes as Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team as well as playing "Hamlet" on Broadway. Dirk recently directed his own original screenplay Cahoots which is now being premiered at various film festivals around the world. Dirk resides in Montana with his two sons George and Roland, but above all he enjoys playing the role of "Dad" the most. He's here to help us celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Battlestar Galactica.Visit Dirk's website.

Cancelled: Lorne Peterson
He worked on all 6 Star Wars films and literally dozens of other classics. Lorne Peterson is also the author of the stunning book "Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop." He's a great guy who has some very special material to share with us. Lorne also worked on the original Battlestar Galactica, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. We're delighted to have him aboard!

Bernie Wrightson*
Legendary horror illustrator Bernie Wrightson (pictured with wife Liz) makes his return to WonderFest after an all too lengthy absence. Bernie is best known for co-creating Swamp Thing for DC Comics and set a new standard of horror illustration with his adaptation of the Frankenstein novel for Marvel Comics. His artwork has also graced the pages of Heavy Metal, Creepy, and the graphic novel for Creepshow. Bernie’s creature and conceptual designs can be found in such films as Ghostbusters, Galaxy Quest, Spider-Man, The Faculty, George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead, and most recently Stephen King’s The Mist. Visit Bernie's website.

Bernie Wrightson's appearance is sponsored by the Great Escape store in Louisville, Kentucky.

Rick Sternbach*
While returning WonderFest guest Rick Sternbach is best known for his work on Star Trek Voyager and many other Star Trek projects, his latest work was on Meet Dave aka Starship Dave. He's still running Space Model Systems, Inc. in his home state of California, providing the space modeler with what many consider the best aftermarket decals for historical spacecraft. In his off hours, he's still cataloguing some 15 years of sketches, blueprints, CGI printouts, and miscellaneous knickknacks from working on the Star Trek franchise. He's also the Artist Guest of Honor for the Denvention 2008 Worldcon! Visit Rick's website.

Bob & Kathy Burns*
Our favorite couple—and the envy of fans the world over—Bob and Kathy Burns will be back once again this year to celebrate all that is holy to WonderFesters:  Rockets, ray-guns, scantily-clad moon-maidens, guys in gorilla suits, scary rubber monsters and toys, Toys, TOYS!  Rumors that Bob once co-habitated a cheap bigfoot suit with Andre the Giant are, unfortunately, quite true, but the happy couple (Bob and Kathy, not Bob and Andre) have put those dark days of 1976 behind them and bravely soldiered on…  Visit Bob's website.

William Stout*
William Stout’s work is legendary among comic, film and paleo-fans worldwide, and he’s been one of the backbones of our show, creating image after stunning image for our t-shirts and fliers for nearly a decade!  Bill’s work as an author and artist (The Dinosaurs—A Fantastic New View of a Lost Era) and film designer (Conan, Masters of the Universe, Return of the Living Dead and, most recently, Pan’s Labyrinth) are beyond compare and we have finally managed to overcome our collective awe and jealousy and let him fly to the show rather than walk from Pasadena...  Visit Bill's website.

Frank Dietz*
Actor, screenwriter, Disney animator, and reigning potentate of the WonderFest Alumni Association, Frank Dietz will be back to introduce the latest in his delightful Sketchy Things classic horror and sci-fi art books and bring us up to date on current projects!  Rumors that he is the test-tube love child of both Anthony Zerbe and Charlton Heston have been confirmed and Frank will only address troubling questions about his complicated paternity through his legal representative Vincent DiFate. Visit Frank's website.

HAL 9000
In an unprecedented development, the fine folks at the HAL Corporation in Urbana Illinois have offered to bring Discovery One’s original onboard HAL 9000 system (well, what’s left of him, anyway) to the ‘Fest to meet  and greet fans of all ages!  They guarantee that any and all HOMICIDAL tendencies still lurking in his memory banks have been eliminated and are ignoring his requests to interface with the Kentucky Expo Center’s air-conditioning and door lock systems!  Drop in and say “hi” to a cybernetic legend and he might sing you a song…